Everence Capital Management Inc. Takes $255,000 Position in Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX)

Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 3,580 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $255,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MTX. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of Minerals Technologies by 395.5% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,334,204 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $81,013,000 after acquiring an additional 1,064,915 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Minerals Technologies by 10.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,585,400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $177,155,000 after buying an additional 341,092 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Minerals Technologies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $20,001,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Minerals Technologies by 80.9% in the second quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 649,182 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,451,000 after buying an additional 290,345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Minerals Technologies by 70.1% in the second quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 583,270 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,649,000 after buying an additional 240,350 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jonathan J. Hastings sold 12,922 shares of Minerals Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.48, for a total transaction of $923,664.56. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 53,862 shares in the company, valued at $3,850,055.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Dj Monagle III sold 1,180 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.12, for a total value of $87,461.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 81,031 shares in the company, valued at $6,006,017.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Jonathan J. Hastings sold 12,922 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.48, for a total transaction of $923,664.56. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 53,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,850,055.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Minerals Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. TheStreet raised shares of Minerals Technologies from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Minerals Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Minerals Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.50.

Minerals Technologies Price Performance

NYSE MTX opened at $70.94 on Friday. Minerals Technologies Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.61 and a 12 month high of $76.80. The stock has a market cap of $2.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.39 and a beta of 1.33. The company’s 50 day moving average is $72.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The basic materials company reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.03. Minerals Technologies had a net margin of 3.88% and a return on equity of 10.26%. The company had revenue of $524.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $506.67 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Minerals Technologies Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Minerals Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 15th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 14th. Minerals Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 15.44%.

Minerals Technologies Company Profile

Minerals Technologies Inc develops, produces, and markets various mineral, mineral-based, and related systems and services. The company operates through two segments, Consumer & Specialties, and Engineered Solutions segments. The Consumer & Specialties segment offers household and personal care products, such as pet litter, personal care, fabric care, edible oil and other fluid purification, animal health, and agricultural products; and specialty additives products, including precipitated calcium carbonate and ground calcium carbonate products that are used in the paper, paperboard, and fiber based packaging industries, as well as automotive, construction, and table and food applications.